The Seduction of the Dark Embrace

The lure of vampirism in MUDs: I suppose it is the same base desire that drives those of us who frequently play vampires, that drives those who explore vampirism in real life. The seduction of the dark embrace. The primal need to feed to survive. The mysterious powers that vampirism awards to its kindred. At the height of fantasy, surely, falls this intriguing (if macabre) realm.

I have, personally, played a vampiric slave in one game for over two years now (real life time). It still sends shivers down my spine when my master’s character “feeds” upon mine. I have searched through World of Darkness MUDs in search of places to play an ever-living vampire, to some success. There are more WoD-inspired games than one might expect. Not terribly surprising, though, in light of the tremendous success of the video game Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption…which I whole-heartedly recommend to you all.

For me, it is your typical vampire fetish that draws me to those types of characters. To others I know, it is the sexy style of the immortal night-dweller that appeals to them—being so vastly different from their mundane real lives. To some who prefer to play ghoul companions and slaves, it is the interest in being dominated. To others who prefer to play vampiric masters, it is the interest in being in control. To some, it is a need to openly “become” the type of character they yearn to be in real life. Those are some of the same who participate in vampire chats on AOL and CompuServ; who gather on street corners in hordes to play “vampires” on weekends; who (in extreme cases) believe they are a vampire, feeding on the psychic energy of those around them –and in some cases—sharing and mingling blood.

It is no secret that there is a tremendous fascination with vampirism throughout the world. In some cultures they are the centre of fearsome superstitions. In America they are glamorized and glorified by shows like “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” and movies like “Interview with a Vampire.” In parts of Europe they are a very real part of cultural history. Just today I read a news article that told of several businessmen hoping to disinter the body of the medieval madman Vlad the Impaler, who was the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” Vlad massacred people en masse with a particularly gruesome flair, and the roots of vampirism as we know it can be traced back to his terrible regime. The businessmen who would fund this morbid venture hope to take some of Vlad’s DNA for study, to see a) if vampirism truly exists and b) if it can be cured by modern science. This, to me, is the epitome of our modern-day interest in vampires.

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